


Good, Bad and Undecided.

by tenpercentbatteryremaining (Louiseeeee)



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 02:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3233762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louiseeeee/pseuds/tenpercentbatteryremaining
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fake Dating AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good, Bad and Undecided.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Don't own Emmerdale, nor the characters. It'd be obvious if I did.
> 
> (I'm listening to the song Ultraviolet by Stiff Dylans, hence the title)

It was about five minutes before Aaron's shift at the garage was about to start when his phone rang. Sighing when he saw it was his mum, he figured he may as well answer it while no one was around.

"Hey, Mum."

"Aaron, honey, how are you doing?"

Aaron quickly retold the uneventful week he'd had since his mum last called, keeping his eye on the clock. The good thing about Chas calling while he was at work is that there was a time limit to how long he could talk for.

"You know Aaron, I worry about you sometimes."

Aaron rolled his eyes. _Here we go_.

"It's been a while since your last boyfriend, I worry about you being lonely living away from home. I really think you should come back to Emmerdale-"

"Mum, stop. I'm fine." Aaron had heard this spiel way too many times for his liking. He was so close to doing something rash like telling his mum that he did have a boyfriend, just to get her off his back.

Wait.

Maybe he should? It wouldn't hurt. It's not like she would ever have to know he was lying.

Oh, fuck it. Anything to keep her satisfied for a few months. If he started feeling guilty he could just say they broke up, no harm done.

"Actually, Mum, I have met someone."

His mum's exclamations of "why didn't you say anything sooner?!" and "what's his name?!" were interrupted by the sound of the outside door opening and closing. That'd be the new guy Robert. This was the first time Aaron would be meeting him and he had to catch him up on all the cars they had in the shop. It was only a small garage though so Robert would be the third person to join their team-

Wait, what had his mum asked?

"Robert?" Shit. Why did he say that? And why did it sound like a question?

"Oh, is that his name?"

"Yes?" Aaron ran his hand down his face. Great, now he was telling his mum he was dating his colleague.

"Oooh, what's he like?!"

Aaron bit his lip and peered around the car he was standing beside to look through the window into the staff area.

"He's, um, blonde."

"Go on."

"Tall."

"Wow, Aaron, so descriptive."

Well that's because he's got his back to me, Aaron thought to himself.

"He's really nice and kind and funny, too." Aaron was really grabbing at straws now.

Finally, Robert turned around and Aaron felt his eyebrows reach his hairline.

"And he's really handsome."

"That's great, babe. How long have you been seeing him?"

"Uh, like two weeks." Aaron caught Robert's eye through the window and gave him a small wave. He turned his back to him immediately after, trying to hide the redness of his face. Even though Robert couldn't hear him he was still a bit anxious that he could lip read or something. "Listen, Mum, I've got to go."

"Oh, alright, but this isn't the last-"

"Okay, yep, bye." Aaron hurriedly hung up the phone just as Robert walked in.

"Hey, Aaron, right?" Robert asked, walking calmly into the garage.

"Yeah. And you're Robert."

"Mhmm." Robert looked at Aaron curiously. "Are you alright, you look a bit..."

"No, I'm fine, I'm fine. Just," Aaron held up his phone, "Mum."

Robert chuckled. "Ah, family. I get it."

Aaron found himself smiling back at Robert.

"Shall we crack on?"

"Yeah, course. This one over here first." Aaron watched Robert as he explained the problems with each car. He took everything in and didn't ask stupid questions.

Aaron liked this guy already.

*~*~*

It was six months later when Aaron's lie finally caught up with him.

In that time, Robert and Aaron had become really close friends. Best friends even. They would talk for hours almost everyday, working on different cars side by side, sometimes going to the pub afterwards for a drink. They spent most weekends at each other's flats watching films and TV shows, getting to know each other better every day.

They knew about each other's pasts, their families, their exes and everything in between. (And Aaron had to admit that he was relieved when he found out Robert was bisexual, that meant he wasn't pretending to be dating someone who was straight.)

The only thing Aaron was keeping from Robert was the fact that for the last six months his Mum has been thinking they're dating. Aaron describes his trips to the pub with Robert as if they were dates and his Mum happily drinks in every word. His plan had worked though, his Mum was worrying less about him and, therefore, didn't call constantly.

He was planning to go home and see her this weekend since the garage would be shut for a few days for renovations. He was on his lunch break on Thursday when Chas called him to finalise plans.

"Yeah, again, I should get there about three." Aaron told his mum, for the fifth time, while standing outside drinking his tea.

"I'm just checking!" Aaron rolled his eyes. "And what's Robert up to this weekend with you gone?"

"He's just chilling at home." Easy question, he'd just been talking about that with Robert earlier.

"And you two are still good?"

"Yeah, we're great, actually." In a way he wasn't lying. Their friendship was great.

"Excellent. In that case, I expect him to be up here with you then, no excuses. Bye love!"

"Mum? Mum!" Fuck, no this can't be happening, she hung up on him! No, no, shit. His plan had been going so well! He was going to have to just tell her. He sighed, the the amount of phone calls he received each week was about to double. She was never going to get off his back now.

Aaron was just about to redial his mum's number when Robert walked out of the garage.

"Hey, you coming? One more and then we're free to go."

An idea struck Aaron as he was looking at Robert who was standing with an expectant smile on his face.

It was a stupid idea, but an idea that meant his mum would never have to know he'd been lying to her for six months.

He wondered if Robert was up for taking a trip this weekend...

*~*~*

"You want me to what?!" Robert actually had to put down the tools he was working with and turn to Aaron who was avoiding looking at him.

"I'll only say it one more time." Aaron sighed, focused on the engine of the car in front of him. "I accidentally told my mum we were dating and now she's invited you all of a sudden to come with me to stay with her this weekend and I don't want to explain to her that I've been lying to her all this time. Would you be up for pretending to be my boyfriend this weekend?"

"How did you 'accidentally' tell your mum we were dating?!"

Aaron finally looked up at his friend. "You happened to walk in when she was asking me what my boyfriend's name was."

"Is that why you looked really shifty the first time we met?"

"Yeah... So will you do it? I know it's a really strange favour to ask but...home cooking?" Aaron shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Robert hopefully. He knew Robert basically lived on microwave meals.

Robert thought it over. Aaron was his closest friend, and he didn't have many of them. They got on so well that it really wouldn't be difficult to pretend they were dating. And it would give him a chance to spend more time with Aaron which is all he really wanted to do lately... One thing that puzzled him was why Aaron didn't get a real boyfriend. Looking at him, it wouldn't be hard.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Are you serious? Thanks, Robert you're a life saver!" Aaron felt like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders. He pulled out his phone to text his mum.

Robert laughed out loud. "Glad I can be of service."

"Mate, you're honestly the best. We'll have a good time, I promise!"

*~*~*

Aaron picked Robert up at 12 o'clock sharp the next day, giving them the full three hour drive to decide how they were going to play 'boyfriends'.

"Did you tell your Mum where we met?"

"I just told her that we worked together."

"That's fine then. Is there anything I need to know?"

"Honestly, not really. All the things I told her about actually happened, just not the way she thinks they did."

"So we really don't have to fake much then. We just have to be more...affectionate with one another, I guess." Robert smirked at Aaron who smacked him on the arm.

"Oh shut up. My mum knows I'm not really an affectionate person so she won't be expecting much."

"But what if I'm an affectionate person Aaron, wouldn't it be odd if I didn't hug my boyfriend 24/7?" That got Robert another smack. "Alright, alright. Wait, will we have to share a bed?"

"Shit, yeah probably, mate. Never thought of that." Aaron looked guiltily over at Robert who, to his relief, didn't look phased.

"It wont really be any different than the times we passed out on your bed after watching the footie."

Aaron burst out laughing and Robert looked at him confused. "What?"

"You don't have the accent to say the word 'footie' properly, Robert. You're not meant to pronounce the 't'!"

Robert turned the window, pretending to be offended but secretly hiding a smile.

To compensate, Aaron pressed play on the CD player, having already put Robert's favourite CD in there earlier.

"Oh, mate! The Balcony! You legend!" Robert squeezed Aaron's arm in thanks before proceeding to murder all of the songs.

Aaron found himself smiling the rest of the drive.

*~*~*

Parking outside his mum's place, Aaron hesitated before getting out of the car. Robert noticed and turned to him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Aaron sighed. "It's just that my mum can be a little much sometimes."

"Hey, come on, I'll be here with you the whole time."

Aaron turned his head towards Robert who was watching him closely. "Honestly, it's you I'm worried about. I just don't want her to go too far and end up ruining our friendship or something."

Aaron hated being so soppy. But Robert was his best friend. He honestly wasn't lonely away from home like his mum thought, and it was because of Robert.

"It'll be fine Aaron, don't worry. I'll be the perfect boyfriend for three days and then we can go home, back to the way things were."

Aaron smiled at Robert's positivity. "Okay let's do this."

Aaron had his hand on the door handle when he turned to Robert and smiled cheekily at him.

"Prepare yourself."

Robert just rolled his eyes.

Stepping into the back of the pub that he hadn't been back to in about a year felt so natural, like he was never gone. He turned around to hold open the door for Robert and seeing him brought him back into the present, reminding him he was glad he had left, he wouldn't have met Robert after all.

"MUM?" Aaron called, surprised that she hadn't been standing in the hallway, looking through the letterbox waiting for their arrival.

"AARON!" He heard her yell back faintly from upstairs. "I'M COMING, LOVE!"

The sound of Chas thundering her way downstairs matched the beating of Aaron's heart. What if she took one look at Robert and saw through his lie that he was his boyfriend.

"Aaron! Oh, I've missed you!"

He found himself suddenly being hugged by his mum, but just as he was about to wrap his arms around her in return, she had let go of him and was now standing in front of Robert who had his standard charming smile on his face.

"And you must be the famous Robert." She stated, looking him up and down, offering a hand to shake.

"And you must be the famous Chas." Robert bent down and kissed her hand, causing Aaron's eyes to roll to the back of his head. What a suck up.

His mum looked pleased as punch though and she burst into a fit of giggles. "Oh you can stay. I like him Aaron. And, oh my," she looked Robert up and down again, this time causing Robert to look up at Aaron questioningly. "I know you said he was handsome, but you never told me just how handsome, love!"

Chas and Robert turned to look at Aaron, who's face was starting to feel warm. Chas winked at him whereas Robert was looking at him with "you think I'm handsome?" written all over his smug face.

Making a face at Robert, Aaron lead his mum into the kitchen.

"Is dinner ready yet?"

"Just about. Paddy's on his way over."

"So can Robert and I take our bags upstairs?"

"Go ahead. No funny business though!" Chas laughed and turned to check on the oven.

Robert and Aaron grabbed their stuff from the hallway and ran up the stairs quickly.

"Your mum seems lovely." Robert said when they finally made their way into Aaron's bedroom.

"You're just saying that." Aaron teased Robert, throwing his bag down beside the bed and watching Robert do the same.

"I'm not..." Robert trailed off as his eyes wandered around the room, taking in all the posters on the wall and picture frames on the dresser.

"This is pretty much exactly like your bedroom at home." Robert joked.

Aaron grabbed Robert by the elbow and pulled him towards the door.

"Come on, you. I want you to meet Paddy."

*~*~*

Paddy arrived not long after Aaron and Robert made it back down the stairs.

Robert had immediately shook his hand and Paddy looked really pleased that he was being treated as Aaron's father figure, just as he had always been assured he was.

Dinner had been going really well with Paddy telling stories from the clinic and Chas recounting bar fights.

But, to Aaron's dismay, eventually the conversation turned to Aaron and Robert.

"So, how long have you known each other?" Paddy asked, knowing less about their 'relationship' than Chas.

"About seven months." Robert answered easily and Aaron hid a smile behind his glass. Good to know he had been listening in the car.

"And how long have you been dating?"

"Six months and two weeks." Aaron replied this time, setting his glass back on the table.

"Oh, what did you do on your six month anniversary?"

Shit, Aaron never even thought about that. He was about to blow off the question saying that they didn't do anything but Robert obviously had different ideas.

"We went out for dinner, actually."

"Where about? Tell me all the details." Chas rested her head in her hands looking at Robert for answers, since clearly she wouldn't be getting any from Aaron.

"Uh," Robert glanced at Aaron for permission to keep going, which he replied to with a shrug. "This little hole in the wall beside my apartment. An Italian place. Aaron ordered some strange pasta thing but didn't like it so he ended up sharing my pizza. Then we went back to mine and drank beers and watched Breaking Bad on Netflix."

Aaron was impressed for two reasons. First of all, because Robert was good at improvising like that. Secondly, because that sounds like a perfect date to him.

"That sounds lovely!" Chas looked over at Aaron now who smiled at her and nodded. Bullet dodged.

"Does anyone want desert?"

"Oh, me please Chas. I'll come help." Robert stood up and started gathering plates in. Aaron gave him a look of surprise, which quickly changed to worry at the thought of Chas and Robert being alone together. Robert just winked at Aaron, clearly trying to say that he's got it.

Robert followed Chas until they were a few feet away in the kitchen area. He had just lowered the plates into the sink when Chas turned to him, whispering.

"I'm really glad you and Aaron are together, Robert, I was worried about him living away on his own but knowing you're there with him makes me feel a whole lot better. You seem like a really great guy."

"Thanks, Chas. That really means a lot." Robert was really touched by what he said because he knew that, even though him and Aaron weren't dating, this could still apply to their friendship.

"The same rule still applies though." Chas began, looking at Robert seriously. "You hurt him-"

"Then you kill me." Robert finished. "Don't worry, I wont."

While Robert and Chas were having their conversation in the kitchen, Paddy and Aaron were also whispering together at the table.

"You seem really happy and comfortable around him, Aaron."

"That's cos I am, Paddy." Aaron replied, glad he didn't have to lie.

"Then I'm really pleased for you, son. He seems like a good egg."

"He is."

They were interrupted by bowls of ice-cream and cake being placed down in front of him and Aaron looked up to see Robert smiling at him cheekily. Aaron was confused until he looked down and saw a wobbly heart drawn on top of his with strawberry sauce.

He figured miming gagging would surely give the game away so instead he decided to play along, which he was sure Robert wouldn't be expecting.

"Oh...you." Aaron practically cooed at Robert before planting a kiss on his cheek.

Robert made a startled noise, definitely not expecting Aaron to respond to his teasing. Thankfully it was covered up by Chas aww-ing.

"You guys are so cute!" She announced, pleased that her son was finally in a healthy, happy relationship.

"Mhmm." Robert and Aaron both agreed, laughing into their deserts.

*~*~*

After staying for a catch up and a few drinks, Paddy left to head home, promising to return the next night with his wife since Chas' boyfriend James and Aaron's old friend Adam and his new girlfriend were all coming around for a night of drinking and catch-up. Aaron hadn't seen Adam too often since they'd both moved away because they were both busy with work, but they had skyped every so often and Aaron was looking forward to meet this girl that Adam had been talking about. He wasn't sure how Adam would react to Robert though, seeing as Aaron had never mentioned him to his friend before as anything more than a friend.

Not long after Paddy had left, Aaron and Robert said goodnight to Chas and headed upstairs, both tired from the journey and the alcohol.

Once back in Aaron's room, Robert grabbed a t-shirt and snuck down the hallway to the bathroom Aaron had pointed out to him so he could get changed. They didn't want Chas wondering why they weren't changing in front of one another. Aaron was in bed already when Robert returned wearing only a t-shirt and boxers, just like Aaron himself. Aaron wondered why it wasn't as awkward as it probably should be when Robert lifted the covers and settled down next to him. As he was drifting off, Aaron figured that it must be because of what Robert said before in the car. They'd fallen asleep beside each other before. Why was this any different?

*~*~*

The next day Aaron was relieved to find that him and Robert had both managed to stay on their side of the bed. He nudged Robert awake before getting up and heading to the bathroom. When they were both dressed and fed Aaron decided that he would give Robert a short break from his mother by offering to show him around the village. Robert had happily agreed, so they set off with Aaron playing tour guide.

"That's the garage where I worked." Aaron informed Robert, pointing in its direction. "And that's the shop."

"Wow," Robert smirked sarcastically. "You should totally quit your job and do this for a living."

"Fuck off." Aaron glared at him, causing Robert to laugh.

After an hour or so of wandering they made their way back to the pub, deciding to get some lunch. After ordering from Chas who was behind the bar, Robert and Aaron took a seat in a booth at the back.

Aaron got back up ten minutes later to order them some drinks and ended up gone for a while. Robert turned around to see what'd happened to him and ended up laughing at the sight. Aaron had a group of women around him who were asking him, from what Robert could hear, about how he was getting on away from Emmerdale and if he was eating properly. The look on Aaron's face was priceless, he was trying to be polite but he was evidently panicked.

Robert got up from his seat, heading to save him. Time to pull out the boyfriend card.

"Ladies, ladies. May I steal my boyfriend back from you?" he spoke in his most charming voice, flashing his smile about. Aaron rolled his eyes but looked relieved nonetheless when Robert grabbed his hand.

Robert could help but be pleased when he noticed some of the women giving Aaron thumbs ups as he walked away from them.

*~*~*

Aaron and Robert stayed chatting in the pub till late, Aaron telling him about everyone who walked through the pub doors. Robert was enjoying the gossip session. It was nice to know that some people's lives were more messed up than his.

Eventually they made their way to the back of the pub and helped Chas get some snacks and drinks ready for everyone who was coming over soon.

"They'll be here any minute, love! Do you want to go get changed?" Aaron looked down at his hoodie and jeans, then back at his mum.

"What's wrong with this?"

Chas just sighed, mumbling "fine, whatever." as she walked away to put everything out on the coffee table.

"I think you look great, Pumpkin." Robert whispered cheekily as he followed Chas with some bottles. Aaron gave him the middle finger in reply.

Chas grabbed her new laptop as well, placing it beside the food as Aaron walked in to join them both.

"What's that for?" Aaron asked.

"Just this game-" Chas was interrupted by the doorbell. Robert headed back to the kitchen to grab some more glasses as Chas ran to the door, Aaron on her heels.

"Adam!"

"Aaron, mate!" Adam engulfed his old friend in a hug, waving hello to Chas as he did so. After he pulled away, he turned to the woman by his side. "Aaron, this is the girl I've been telling you about. My girlfriend, Victoria."

"Nice to meet you," Aaron shook Victoria's hand and she smiled at him. She seemed really nice. And really familiar, though Aaron couldn't put his finger on it.

Chas started taking their coats and placing them on the banister. "Just head on through to the living room. You'll get to meet Aaron's boyfriend!"

"Boyfriend? Aaron you sly dog, why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?" Adam joked as they walked into the living room.

"Victoria?" Robert's voice stopped Aaron from having to come up with a plausible answer.

"Robert?!"

Aaron and Adam looked on as Victoria ran to Robert and hugged him.

"Do you two...know each other?" Adam was the one to ask, while Aaron stood thinking. How did he recognise her?

His question was soon answered though.

"He's my brother."

*~*~*

Chas was at the door letting the rest of the guests in while the Sudgen family reunion was happening in the living room. Victoria explained to Adam the story Aaron now realised he knew, how Robert and his adoptive brother Andy didn't get on and Victoria had always been in the middle until Robert decided on a fresh start, moving away from his hometown and getting a job in a garage.

Robert and Victoria hadn't spoken since.

Aaron walked to Robert's side, placing a hand on his shoulder and steering him towards a chair. Aaron sat beside him, rubbing a hand down Robert's back. He knew that family was a sore subject for him.

"So, you're dating Aaron?" Victoria asked, sitting with Adam on the sofa.

"Yeah." Robert plastered on a smile, placing a hand around Aaron's waist. "Just had our six month anniversary."

"That's really great!" Victoria beamed at her big brother. Both men knew she wasn't lying.

"And you're seeing Adam?" Robert was now in big brother mode, shifting his gaze to Adam.

"Yep. About the same length of time actually."

"I guess I'll have to get to know him a bit better tonight then." Robert smiled at his sister's boyfriend with only a slight hint of menacing.

Aaron and Victoria rolled their eyes, but any further conversation was interrupted by James, Paddy and Rhona entering the room. Hugs and introductions were passed around.

"Right!" Chas announced, clapping her hands. "Who wants a drink?"

*~*~*

Several hours later and everyone was tipsy, if not full on drunk.

Aaron was watching Robert anxiously as he talked to Victoria at the other side of the room. It didn't seem bad though, judging by the smile on Robert's face. Adam was sitting beside Aaron, sipping a beer casually as they caught up on the last few weeks. Aaron had made up some excuse about wanting to make sure that Robert was going to last before he told Adam about him, and he had bought it.

The sound of Chas cheering caught Aaron's attention. She had started up a couple's quiz game on her laptop about an hour ago. Each couple had to sit back to back on some kitchen chairs with handheld whiteboards and markers, answering questions about their relationship. Aaron had been ignoring it, quietly hoping that everyone would be bored of it by the time it would be his and Robert's turn, which should be-

"Right, Aaron, Robert it's your turn!" Chas called, after writing down on the notepad that her and James got 8 out of 10. One more than Paddy and Rhona, meaning she felt she practically had it in the bag. There's no way that a couple who have been together for a handful of months could beat her several year long relationship.

Aaron and Robert looked at each other nervously as they put down their drinks and made their way to the chairs. I'm not drunk enough for this, Aaron thought to himself. They had been paying very little attention to the game through the night, but they got that you had to answer the questions on the whiteboard and if your answers matched you got a point. If you got it wrong, you both took a shot.

Chas tapped about excitedly on the laptop where the questions were being generated. "I have to change it to male/male relationship!"

"Okay, Mum." Aaron rolled his eyes. Chas obviously had a few shots in her.  
  
Robert whispered to him as they were sitting back to back waiting. "Do you think we'll be able to answer even half of the questions?"

Aaron laughed nervously. "Probably not, but I'm sure we can make some educated guesses. By the look on my mums face, she thinks she's won. They're obviously not expecting much from us."

"READY!" Chas announced to the room. "Okay Aaron, first question is for you. What is Robert's favourite meal that you make for him?"

Aaron heard Robert snort with laughter and then the squeak of pen on whiteboard.

Biting his lip, Aaron started to write his own answer, knowing exactly what Robert was writing. The first time Robert was over at his flat they tried to order Dominoes pizza but Aaron had forgotten to change his local Dominoes from the one near Emmerdale to the one around the corner so when they arrived to pick it up, there was no order there. They didn't stop laughing at his mistake all the way back to the flat (hell, Robert still brought it up sometimes) where, to make it up to Robert, Aaron made Robert the only thing he's truly good at making.

A bacon sandwich.

And that was the answer that scored them their first point.

Chas moved on quickly while they gave each other a hi-5.  
  
"Robert, what kind of underwear does Aaron wear?"

Robert heard Aaron anxiously tapping on his whiteboard, clearly thinking that Robert wouldn't know the answer and that'd raise serious questions.  
  
Well, Robert thought smugly, it's good I do know the answer.

It'd been a while ago so Robert didn't blame Aaron for not remembering, but they'd once decided it'd be a good idea to walk to Robert's flat from the garage since neither of them had taken their car to work and they couldn't be bothered waiting on the bus. Half an hour later and they were trailing rain through Robert's kitchen, both of them soaked through. Robert had given Aaron dry clothes to wear, including underwear, and Robert had thrown both of their clothes in the washing machine. When he was sorting them out later once they were dry, it was hard not to notice that Aaron had been wearing plain black boxer briefs, similar to the ones Robert himself wore.

Robert quickly scribbled his answer on to the whiteboard and held it up, trying not to visibly relax when Chas called out that they'd gotten another point.

"How'd you know that?" Aaron whispered over his shoulder.

"The rain incident." Robert whispered back, smirking though Aaron couldn't see it.

He could hear Aaron's chuckle behind him. "Oh yeah."  
  
"Okay! Next question!" Chas was still smug, sure they'd get one of the next few questions wrong.

"Aaron! What is Robert's favourite feature about you?"

Those who were paying attention to them awed. Which Aaron was surprised to find was…everyone. No one had been paying much attention to everyone else's turn, including Aaron himself.

Thinking back to the question he sighed. He genuinely wasn't sure about this one, he couldn't think of any point of their friendship where this might have come up. Robert had told him once or twice that he should smile more because it suited him. That was going to have to do because Chas was calling for him to hold up his whiteboard.

A chorus of "aw" made its way around the room again, followed by the sound of Chas giving them another point.  
  
"Good to know you listen to me." Robert whispered cheekily at Aaron.

"Oi, shut up you."

"Robert, you again. What's the last text Aaron sent you?"

Robert smiled as he wrote down the words 'I'm outside, dickhead.' which had been the text that Aaron had sent him to let him know he was there to pick him up yesterday morning.

"Funny with his terms of endearment, that one." Robert joked after they got the point. He was glad to hear everyone laugh, including Aaron.

"Aaron, your turn love. What is…" Chas trailed off looking at the screen with a strange look on her face. "I don't want to ask my son this question!"

Aaron and Robert exchanged worried looks while Victoria peered at the screen. "Ew! I don't want to know that about my brother!"  
  
Adam read the question next, and being Adam, started cheering at Chas to ask the question.

After lots of discussion, Chas was finally forced to blurt out the question, it being pointed out that they'd all had to answer a dirty question.

"Aaron…What is Robert's favourite sex position?"

Aaron choked on air.

"Robert's what?"

"Please don't make me repeat it, love." Chas pleaded with him.

"Alright, okay." Aaron turned his head to his whiteboard, avoiding looking at anyone.

Aaron heard Robert giggle- giggle- behind him as he wrote his answer and it was then that Aaron remembered a conversation that him and Robert had a few weeks ago and he quickly started writing on the whiteboard.

Robert had been trying to describe a scene in a film to him and it ended with them spending half an hour on Google trying to find the name of the position the two characters were having sex in. They were like two giggly teenagers the whole time and Aaron could still remember what the answer had been. Missionary. The only sex position name either of them knew to this day.

"Alright, moving on very quickly," Chas rushed over the sound of Adam wolf whistling, giving them a point. "Robert. What is Aaron's birthday?"

_January 5th_ , Robert thought writing it down. He remembered clearly Aaron's birthday earlier that year. They'd been friends a few months by that point and Aaron agreed to meet Robert at the garage despite it being their day off. Robert had the keys of a fancy convertible sports car that he had just finished fixing, the owners weren't due to pick it up for another few days so Robert didn't see the harm in him and Aaron borrowing it for a few hours. Aaron was a bit hesitant at first but finally gave in and they spent hours taking turns driving around open country lanes just on the outskirts of town. It was some of the best fun Robert had ever had, they had barely stopped laughing the whole time despite it being pretty damn cold. After returning the car to the garage, they went back to Aaron's place and drank until they crashed.

He was so busy thinking about the memory that Robert missed them getting another point. That was six that they had now, they had already beaten Vic and Adam. Robert and Aaron could both tell that Chas was starting to get competitive, she obviously hadn't thought they'd get past three.

"The next four questions are for the both of you. You have to answer with either your name or the other's. Got it?"

Robert and Aaron both nodded in agreement.

"Alright, which one is more romantic?"

Aaron hesitated only a second before writing down Robert's name. It was pretty clear to him that he was not the most romantic, and Robert had managed to come up with that anniversary story off the top of his head yesterday. Robert was thinking along the same lines. He knew for a fact that he was a romantic, and he thought Aaron probably was too, deep down, he just didn't know it.

They both held up their whiteboards with Robert's name scribbled across them, giving them another point and making them equal with Paddy and Rhona. One more right answer and they'd be drawn with Chas and James.

"Which of you is the big spoon?" Chas was getting more and more frustrated. Deep down she was really happy her son was with someone who knew him so well, but right now, in her drunken state, all she wanted was to win.

Robert pretty much immediately wrote down his own name. He was taller than Aaron, therefore he would be the big spoon. Aaron had the same idea. He had a small smile on his face as he wrote Robert's name. He shouldn't be thinking about it, but he was glad Robert would be the big spoon in their hypothetical situation. He secretly liked being hugged in his sleep.

Another point gained, and Chas was mad.

"Fine then," Chas read the question on the screen in front of her. "Which of you is more likely to make a big gesture?"

Aaron immediately thought back to when Robert had found out about his scars. It had only been a month or so ago when they'd been sitting together on Aaron's couch eating ice cream and Aaron had spilled some on his t-shirt. He immediately took off his t-shirt, planning to head to his room and get a new one, and it was only when he saw the look on Robert's face and how his eyes were trained to his stomach that he remembered. Because he had forgotten. He had been so comfortable and safe and happy around Robert that he had forgotten about the marks on his skin which were reminders of the time that he wasn't any of those things.

Robert had asked, and he had told. He had cried a little bit, and Robert held him close. Then Aaron put on a clean t-shirt and they went back to the TV. Nothing more was said on the matter.

Aaron assumed Robert would just forget about it, but the next day his plans to lounge around all day were interrupted by Robert turning up on his doorstep in the early afternoon, claiming they were going to have a day out together.

When Aaron was finally dressed and in Robert's car, he noticed straight away that all of his favourite CDs were piled up in between them, waiting for him to choose.

Robert drove them to Leeds, where they went to Aaron's favourite place for lunch- Nando's- even though Robert only likes one thing on the menu. And Robert insisted on paying. Then they went to HMV where they picked out a bunch of DVDs that weren't on Netflix for them to watch on one of their movie nights. Aaron knew Robert would have tried to pay for that too if he hadn't stopped him with a glare.

They wandered around Leeds for a bit longer, sometimes popping into shops, but talking constantly the whole time. Eventually they wound up in a tiny market, and they walked slowly through it, heading towards where they had parked the car.

"Wait, wait." Robert had held onto Aaron's arm and dragged him over to a stall that had thin woven bracelets in every colour imaginable. To Aaron's surprise, Robert quickly paid for two dark blue ones before turning and tying one around Aaron's right wrist.

"Think of it like a reminder that you're not alone." he had said, his eyes locked on Aaron's, before tying the other around his own wrist with a little bit of help.

In that moment, standing there, less than a foot away from Robert, in the middle of the crowded market place, Aaron had almost-

_No. Nope. He had agreed with himself that he was never going to think about that_ , Aaron reminded himself, quickly writing down Robert's name. His eyes were drawn to the worn thread bracelet still tied around his wrist. He had never taken it off since that day.

Robert was fiddling with his own bracelet behind Aaron, also thinking back to that day. Hearing about how Aaron used to feel about himself devastated Robert. He never wanted Aaron to feel like that again, and he'd wanted to show Aaron that he was there for him and always would be. The minute he saw the bracelets he realised that it was the perfect gesture, a way to remind Aaron that even if Robert wasn't there right that minute, that he was never alone, that he could call Robert whenever he needed someone, and he'd be there as soon as he could. The scars were Aaron's battle wounds, and Robert never wanted Aaron to feel like he was at war with himself again.

Robert wrote his own name, and they gained another point, putting themselves in the lead. Neither of them really realised it though, they weren't even paying attention to what question they were on, so when Chas called out that this was their last question, both were surprised.

"Okay, so last one." Chas had given up, they'd won. Her son and his boyfriend had beaten her. She took another shot and was pretty much over it immediately. "Which of you is more likely to propose?"

Aaron and Robert both laughed out loud at the question, all thoughts of Aaron's self harm pushed to the side. There had been a night two weeks ago when they'd decided to watch The Proposal because Robert had heard that Ryan Reynolds was naked in it at one point. They both got quite tipsy watching it, so eventually the question was brought up of how the other would propose. Robert had described a massive scheme that involved an empty football pitch, neon signs and live dancers. When they had both stopped laughing at Robert's over the top idea, Robert had asked Aaron how he would do it. Aaron sat thinking for a moment before he got down on one knee in front of Robert and grabbed his hand that wasn't holding a beer bottle.

"Robert." He had began with a jokingly profound look on his face that had made Robert smile. "You are my best friend, no one knows me as well as you do and you make me happy. Will you marry me?"

Robert had played along, gasping in fake shock. "Of course I will!"

They had both laughed, Robert claiming that he liked Aaron's proposal better, but what Robert hadn't told Aaron was that it took him a long time to get rid of the butterflies that had entered his chest the moment Aaron had kneeled down in front of him.

Aaron's name on both of their whiteboards scored them their final point, and it was only when Chas started squealing and clapping that they had realised what they had done. They had won the couple's quiz. They had answered every single question correctly, and they weren't even together.

Finally turning to look at each other for the first time since the game had started, disbelief was etched all over both of their faces.

"Come on, lover boys. Give your boyfriend a kiss and grab a few shots anyway."

Robert kissed Aaron on the cheek, smiling before reaching over and to pick up one of the full shot glasses before his hand was slapped away by Chas.

"That wasn't a real kiss! Kiss him like you mean it!"

Aaron paled, he hadn't figured that they'd have to kiss at all this trip, his Mum knew he wasn't one for PDA, but she was obviously too drunk to care about that right now. Robert turned to look at him again, question clear on his face. Aaron bit his lip and shrugged. It wouldn't do them any harm right?

Robert understood what Aaron was trying to say, so he gave him a slight nod before leaning forward slightly, allowing Aaron to close the gap.

So Aaron did, he leaned in and kissed Robert, just like he almost had that day at the market.

The press of their lips on the other's only lasted a few seconds before they simultaneously pulled apart. Aaron's face felt slightly warm and Robert's hands were a bit clammy, but otherwise they felt no different. They smiled at each other before taking a shot glass each from Chas' outstretched arms.

They were best friends. That's how they knew each other well enough to answer all of the questions right, they were just really close, and honest with one another. Nothing would change that, ever.

And they were right about the fact that that wouldn't change, but something else definitely would.

*~*~*

It changed at three in the morning.

Chas was passed out on the couch on top of James. Rhona, Paddy, Adam and Victoria had all shared a pre-booked cab home about ten minutes ago, and Robert and Aaron were making their way up the stairs to Aaron's room, which they were finding harder than usual.

There was lots of giggling involved, and tripping on air but somehow they made it to the upper landing. They had their arms around the other for stability, even though it was probably causing more problems than it was solving. It was hard to believe they were probably the most sober out of everyone.

"Shh! You'll wake your Mum!" Robert giggled as Aaron hit his elbow off the banister.

"She's out cold, mate. She could sleep through a hurricane." Aaron insisted, before tripping over one of Robert's feet and landing with his back against the wall beside his bedroom door. Robert was pulled with him, and they found themselves laughing all over again, pressed close to each other on the landing.

Robert moved back slightly to give Aaron some room to stand up, a wide smile on his face. Aaron was grinning back, and Robert's eyes ran up and down his face. Aaron's smile dimmed as he watched Robert's eyes roaming over his features.

Aaron's heart was beating faster and faster, and at first he didn't know why. Just like Robert didn't know why he found himself leaning in again. He was an inch away from Aaron's lips when he gave in and thought, fuck it.

Their second kiss was similar to the first. It was gentle and innocent and only lasted a few seconds. Robert opened his eyes briefly to see Aaron's were still closed, his head still tilted back, and that was all the confirmation Robert needed.

He kissed Aaron again, and this time it was so, so different from the last. Aaron's hands made their way into Robert's hair as he opened his mouth to Robert's tongue. Robert's hands were on Aaron's waist moments later, running up and down his sides and then around his back.

Everything was so quick, Aaron's hands were soon pushing Robert's jumper over his head, breathing heavily as he started on the buttons of the shirt underneath. Remembering they were in the corridor, Aaron reached out his hand to his left and found the door handle he was looking for. He grabbed Robert by the front of his jeans and pulled him backwards into the darkness of his room.

*~*~*

When Aaron woke up the next morning, he was immediately aware of two things. One, this time him and Robert had not managed to stay on their sides of the bed, and two, he was completely, one hundred percent naked.

He moved Robert's arm from where it was settled across his stomach, and groggily sat up, his head pounding.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that, despite the hangover, he remembered every single moment of the night before.

Aaron took one look at Robert, who was lying face down, head squished into the pillow, before getting out of bed and grabbing a fresh pair of underwear from his bag, avoiding looking at the mess of clothes all over the bedroom floor. He also threw on a pair of jogging bottoms and a hoodie before tiptoeing out the door, only stopping to grab Robert's jumper which was lying in the hallway and throw it back into the room.

It was only nine am, so Aaron wasn't surprised to see his mum and James still in the same position they'd been in last night. He grabbed some painkillers and a glass of water before sitting down at the kitchen table and finally allowing himself to think about what had happened, what he had done.

He had sex with his best friend.

*~*~*

It was about half ten when Robert made an appearance and Aaron was pleased to see that he looked just as freaked out as Aaron felt.

Not that the sex was bad or anything, it was good actually, really good, great even, but Aaron wasn't thinking about that.

They had completely compromised their friendship. The strongest friendship Aaron had at this point. And they worked together.

"Look..." Robert began, running a hand through his hair, giving Aaron flashbacks to the night before.

"There's bread over there if you want toast." Aaron interrupted. He didn't want to talk about it right now. He couldn't.

He refocused his attention on his own piece of toast in front of him which he had been nibbling on for half an hour. Dejected, he got up and threw it in the bin, placing is plate a bit too hard into the sink.

"Aaron, what happened-" Robert tried again. His head was swimming, thoughts of last night mixing in with doubt and fear, fear that the friendship they had was ruined.

"Let's just forget about it alright?" Aaron spun around to look at Robert, who was still standing at the table. "Just pretend it never happened. Go back to the way things were."

They both knew that they could never go back to the way things were, but they were also both too afraid to admit that.

"Yeah, okay." Robert gave in. He wanted to talk about it, but at the same time he really, really didn't.

"Fine."

"Great."

Aaron went upstairs and got changed, Robert already having done so, and then they packed all their stuff together in silence, Aaron stripping their bed covers and putting them in the washing machine. They were planning to leave around three, making sure they were getting home before it turned dark.

Chas finally woke up at midday, James heading home to get fresh clothes. Thankfully she was way too hungover to notice the weirdness between them.

Aaron only slipped up once. While he was eating lunch at the table with Chas, he found his eyes wandering to Robert who was tidying up the kitchen. He took in Robert's strong body, his eyes roaming over his legs and muscular shoulders and his waist and...other places. He studied Robert's profile, watching his lips and biting his own in response. He had always known Robert was attractive, he wasn't _blind_ , but other than that time in Leeds, he had never once thought to act on it. Well, there was the time when Robert told Aaron he was bisexual and Aaron had cheered internally, he didn't like to think too hard about that though-

Aaron turned his head away when Robert glanced at him, and he found himself looking at his mum's thoughtful face instead.

"You know, honey, the point of being in a relationship is that you don't have to look away when they catch you staring." Chas whispered conspiratorially at him before winking.

*~*~*

After hugs and tearful goodbyes (on Chas' end) and a quick stop to say goodbye to Paddy, Robert and Aaron were on the road again. It was nothing like their trip there though. The car was silent, no music playing. Aaron was determined to focus on his driving rather than allowing himself to think about Robert, as a result he drove better than he ever had before.

However, this gave Robert the chance to think instead. He honestly hadn't stopped thinking about Aaron all day, much to his dismay. He stared resolutely out of the window, staring at fields and sheep to stop himself staring at Aaron.

What they did was...destructive. It was most likely going to ruin the friendship they had spent months building. Aaron was going to have to tell his mum they split up and she'd go back to worrying about him. Things were going to be really awkward at work, too.

Yet, Robert found he still didn't regret it.

If he was honest with himself, truly honest, he would admit that he may have dreamt about it once or twice. Aaron didn't know obviously, but Aaron was ridiculously handsome...and smart and funny and great and perfect.

Not until now though had Robert ever considered being in a relationship with Aaron, and he was genuinely puzzled as to why not.

Robert sighed and just stopped short of hitting his head on the window.

He figured there was no point thinking about that now.

*~*~*

Robert grabbed his bag from the back of the car, heading up the steps towards his apartment, Aaron following behind him. He had figured if they were going to try and get back to normal, it would be weird if he had just stayed sitting in the car.

Robert turned back to Aaron after unlocking his door.

They studied each other's faces for a moment before Aaron bit his lip nervously. "Well, um, bye then. I'll see you tomorrow."

Aaron gave Robert a small smile before turning back towards the stairs. Robert sighed and grabbed Aaron's elbow, pulling him towards him. Aaron's heart leapt at the thought that Robert was going to kiss him again, and it only faltered slightly as he felt himself being pulled into a hug.

They'd hugged before. But not like this. Aaron had his nose burried in Robert's sweater, breathing in his scent. Robert was pulling Aaron as close as possible, his eyes squeezed shut. When they finally separated, Robert smiled slightly at Aaron. "I'll see you tomorrow."

When Aaron left and Robert was in his apartment, he leaned his head against the door. These feelings he was having, for Aaron, for his best friend, they weren't going anywhere.

*~*~*

Aaron arrived home and immediately started unpacking to keep himself busy. He put in his earphones to drown out his thoughts, thoughts he shouldn't be having about his best friend.

Had he wanted Robert to kiss him then, in front of his flat? Surely not, no. He was just confused. Robert was his best friend. He didn't have feelings for Robert and Robert didn't have feelings for him.

Even if he did, where were they coming from? They sleep together once and suddenly he can't stop thinking about Robert? Well, he used to think about Robert a lot anyway, but that's because he was his closest friend, not because he wanted to fuck him. Right? But what if subconciously he had wanted to be with Robert this whole time, what if-

Aaron groaned and threw himself onto his couch. This was all way too confusing. Running his hands down his face, Aaron told himself to go make something to eat and not think about Robert the whole time.

It's fair to say he failed.

*~*~*

The following morning, Aaron arrived at work to find Robert already there, bags under his eyes to match his own. They tried to talk to one another as usual as they worked but ten minutes of small talk were followed by half an hour of silence.

Aaron found himself wondering if it had been worth it, one night of sex for a number of days without Robert.

Eventually Aaron sighed and turned on the old radio that sat on the shelf behind them. It hadn't been used in six months.

*~*~*

Every single day that week was exactly the same, small talk then radio.

They could barely look at one another any more. Robert couldn't look at Aaron because he was afraid if he did that he'd open his mouth and all the feelings he had bottled up inside would pour out and he knew if that happened, they would never be able to get their friendship back. Aaron couldn't look at Robert because he was worried that his face would display all the turmoil and longing that's been building inside of him, and he didn't want Robert to have to reject him. He would just wait till the feelings went away and then everything would be back to normal.

Right?

Robert made it so, so hard for Aaron though, without even meaning to. Even the way he looked in his overalls, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off his muscled forearms...

But, no. Aaron was going to ignore how he felt, and it would all go away.

*~*~*

The weekend after they came home from the trip was when everything came to a head. The whole week Aaron had been miserable and now it was Saturday night, a week after they had...you know. Usually on a Saturday evening at this time Robert would be over and they'd be sitting watching TV, joking and laughing, teasing one another.

It was painful to think about what he had lost, so Aaron got up from staring at the blank TV and grabbed a bottle of beer from his fridge. He had only taken one sip when there was a knock at his door.

Confused, Aaron headed to the door and unlocked it, wondering who it could be considering no one came over apart from-

Robert.

He was leaning against Aaron's doorframe, smelling slightly of booze. Aaron was relieved to see that Robert's car was no where to be seen.

"Robert? What are you doing here?"

"I've missed you, Aaron." Robert took a step into the flat, towards Aaron. "I've missed this."

Before Aaron could question what 'this' was, Robert had moved forward again and was kissing him. Aaron's whole body felt like it was on fire as he wound his arms around Robert's back instantly.

His head and his heart were battling with each other, yet he couldn't pull his lips away from Robert's. On one hand, doing this again would surely mean they would never be able to go back to the way things were, but on the other hand, their friendship was pretty much fucked anyway.

And Aaron _wanted_ this, he wanted it _so bad_.

So he gave in, he pulled Robert's jacket off then shrugged off his own hoodie.

By the time they made it to Aaron's bedroom, there was a trail of clothing leading from the front door. With each item of clothing that fell, it felt like it was a piece of their old friendship being ripped off and thrown to the ground.

Yet, when Aaron was lying on his bed, Robert on top of him kissing his neck, he couldn't find it in himself to care.

*~*~*

Aaron woke up with a start the next morning. He was naked, again, and he had Robert's arm around him, again.

He rolled around to look at Robert and found himself closer than expected, only an inch away from Robert's face. He took in Robert's eye lashes, his cute nose, his red lips and the lingering hint of...alcohol... on Robert's breath.

The smile that had worked it's way onto Aaron's face dropped. Robert had been drunk, Aaron had known that last night. It was only now though that he realised what that meant.

Aaron untangled himself from Robert and the bed covers before throwing on a pair of boxers and storming into his kitchen, running his hands furiously over his face and through his hair.

He was angry with Robert, and angry with himself too for giving into his feelings and acting so impulsively.

He looked around the kitchen, he needed something to do to stop himself going crazy. He grabbed the kettle and filled it with water before slamming it back down and flicking the switch. He noticed the all the plates and pots and cutlery sitting out from when he had dinner last night. He filled up the sink with hot water and soap, furiously scrubbing all of his dirty dishes and placing them heavily on the worktop. He could feel his eyes prickling, but he wasn't going to cry, he wasn't.

_He was a fucking drunk hook up, that's all he meant to Robert now_.

What Aaron didn't count on was the sound of all his banging about in the kitchen waking Robert up, until he appeared in the doorway, matching Aaron in his underwear.

"Hey, what's-"

"Don't fucking talk to me Robert, just get your stuff and go." Aaron scrubbed angrily at a fork he had already washed twice.

"What?" Robert was confused as anything. "Aaron, what about last night, I thought-"

"You thought what?" Aaron threw the fork back into the water and turned to Robert who was standing a few feet away from him. "That you could just come over, drunk, and I'd just jump on your dick? I may have last night, but I'm not some fucking booty call, Robert!"

"I never said you were!" Robert was becoming defensive, even though he wasn't sure what Aaron was mad at.

"Oh, so you just ignore me all week and then get drunk and decide 'hey, I want to have meaningless sex, I'll just pop by Aaron's and he'll put out again'?" the volume of Aaron's voice was raising with every word.

"Aaron I wasn't even drunk!" Robert yelled. "I'm not even hungover now! I had a glass of whiskey at the pub around the corner on my way over because I needed the liquid courage! And yeah, maybe we should have talked a bit first before, but I couldn't-"

"Wait, what? Why did you need liquid courage?!" Aaron found himself still shouting even though he wasn't sure why.

"Because I have fucking feelings for you Aaron, and I was coming over to tell you!" Robert's yell echoed through the apartment.

"You...What?" Aaron grabbed onto the counter to keep himself upright.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you this whole week, Aaron. I've been thinking of what it'd be like if we were together. It'd be just like how we were before but with more kissing, cuddling, hand-holding, sex. And that sounds like heaven to me." Robert was looking at Aaron with pleading eyes, but he took his friend's silence as something else, and his shoulder's drooped.

"Alright, I get it, I'll just..." Robert turned to pick up his clothes that were strewn across the apartment.

"Robert, wait." Aaron started to make his way across the room to Robert, who looked around at him. "I can't stop thinking about you like that either."

"Are you serious?" Robert asked, a smile forcing it's way onto his face.

"Completely." Aaron whispered, smiling at Robert before cupping his face and pressing their lips together. Robert pulled him closer by his waist and peppered kisses all over Aaron's face, making him smile.

"Alright then."

"Alright."

They realised that neither of them were really making much sense, but they understood what was happening between them. This was it, there was no going back.

Aaron thought of the clothes lying on his apartment floor, and how last night he had thought of them as symbols of their friendship, and in a way he was right. They had shed their old friendship like a skin, elvolving into so much more.

"Hey, you won't have to lie to your mum any more." Robert laughed, and Aaron rolled his eyes.

*~*~*

Eventually Chas found out about their lie, but that didn't stop her asking Robert to come visit every time Aaron did.

She still worried about her son sometimes, she was allowed to as a mother, but Chas found herself gradually worrying less over time.

She worried less when Aaron told her that him and Robert were moving in together, and she worried even less when she found out that Robert's new job as a business consultant was going well, on top of Aaron's promotion.

But if she was honest, the first time she truly stopped worrying, was the time Aaron came home beaming with a ring on his finger.

 

**THE END**

 


End file.
